Automatic vise



Feb. 10, 1959 E. M; CHAPMAN 2,872,834

AUTOMATIC VISE Filed Aug. 2, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 HHIWIIIHlllllllllllllllflflllll INVENTOR. Z6 J9] 2: 24/ 54 21/211! map/hm ATTC! R N EYS Feb. 10, 1959 Filed Aug. 2, 1956 E. M. CHAPMAN AUTOMATIC VISE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 J Ah a 2/ INVENTOR.

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United States Patent 2,872,834 AUTOMATIC vIsE Elijah Manul Chapman, Wortham, Tex. Application August 2, 1956, Serial No. 601,714 1 Claim. (Cl. 81-26) 'This invention relates to a vise, particularly adapted for use by a jeweler, and in particular a vise having a stationary jaw and a movable jaw and in which the movable jaw is provided with a tongue extended through the portion of the vise upon which the stationary jaw is positioned and adapted to be automatically gripped as it is pressed inwardly in the vise, such as being moved against one side of a head of a bolt having its opposite side posi tioned against the stationary jaw, and wherein the tongue with the movable jawthereon may be released by pressing a spring actuated arm inwardly and also by rotating a hand lever pivotally mounted in the portion of the vise on which the stationary jaw is positioned and having a cam positioned to enact with tongue-gripping elements in the vise.

The purpose of this invention is to expedite the work of a jeweler by providing a vise in which the movable jaw of the vise is adapted to be moved against the work held against a stationary jaw whereby the necessity of turning a screw to grip an object between the jaws is obviated.

Various types of quick-set wrenches and other devices wherein a movable jaw is free to slide into gripping relation with a stationary jaw for gripping objects between the jaws have been provided, however, in a vise where operations are performed upon work and involve considerable force or power, it is desirable to provide a doublegripping action wherein one jaw may be locked in relation to another with a cam action, and wherein, with the cam action released the movable jaw may be adjusted in relation to the stationary jaw with a spring-actuated finger or arm. With this thought in mind this invention contemplates a housing having a stationary jaw mounted thereon and a continuous opening or tunnel therethrough, a movable jaw carried by a tongue extended through the tunnel of the housing of the stationary jaw, the tongue adapted to be rigidly held by a hand-lever-actuated cam and adapted to be temporarily held by a spring-actuated finger-controlled latching element.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for mounting a movable jaw in relation to a stationary jaw of a vise wherein the movable jaw is adapted to be freely moved against work positioned against a stationary jaw and readily locked by a cam.

Another object of the invention is to provide a quickacting vise in which a movable jaw is temporarily retained in position by a latching element and, after being properly positioned, is rigidly locked in position by a cam.

A further object of the invention is to provide an automatic vise which is of a simple and economical construc- With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a housing having a flanged base provided with bolt holes, a stationary jaw positioned upon the housing, a movable jaw having an elongated tongue slidably mounted in the housing, finger-controlled latching means for temporarily retaining the tongue in position 2,872,834 Patented Feb. 10, 1959' in the housing, and a lever-a'ctuated-cam assembly for positively gripping the tongue of the movable jaw;

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved automatic vise.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the vise.

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section through the vise taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1 showing the tongue of the movable jaw extended through the housing upon which the stationary jaw is mounted.

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the lower portion of the vise taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 2.

Figure 5 is a view looking upwardly toward the undersurface of the vise.

Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through the vise taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 5. v

Figure 7 is a perspective view of a key, forming part of the automatic vise;

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a gripper, forming part of the automatic vise; and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a dog, forming part of the automatic vise.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved quickaction vise of this invention includes a stationary jaw 10, a housing 11 on which the stationary jaw is mounted, a movable jaw 12 carried by a tongue 13 slidably mounted in the housing 11, a cam 14 having a hand lever 16 extended therefrom and being pivotally mounted in the housing 11 by means of a pin 15, a dog 17 positioned in the housing 11 to be actuated by the cam 14, a gripper 18 in the housing 11 and adapted to be actuated by a key 19 that is positioned in the housing 11 intermediate of the gripper 18 and the dog 17 and in engagement with the gripper 18 and the dog 17 for, gripping the tongue 13 of the movable jaw 12 and a latch 20 pivotally mounted on a pin 21 and urged into gripping relation with the tongue 13 by a spring 22, the latch 20 being movable out of engagement with the tongue by a finger 23.

The housing 11 is formed with a base 24 having an opening 25 therethrough, said base having a projection 26 at one side of the opening and upon which base a spring 27 is mounted by a screw 28; and a cover 29 secured to the base through end walls 30 and 31 and a side wall 32 and, as illustrated in Fig. 4, openings 33 and 34 in the end walls 30 and 31, respectively, through which the tongue 13 extends. The base 24 is also provided with a flange 35 having a bolt hole or opening 36 therein, and beneath the cover 29 the base is provided with an opening 37 for the lower end of the pin 15, the upper end of which is positioned in an opening 38 in the cover 29.

The tongue 13 of the movable jaw 12 is provided with an elongated boss 39 having serrations 40 on the surface thereof, the serrations being positioned to coact with similar serrations 41 on the gripper 18 and with serrations 42 on the latch 20. The gripper 18 is provided with an arm 43 having a projection 44 extending therefrom to provide a recess 45, the lower end of the spring 27 extending into the recess 45 in the arm 43 inwardly of and adjacent the projection 44, as shown in Fig. 6. The gripper 18 is also providedwith a recess 46 in which one end of the key 19 is positioned and the opposite end of the key extends into a recess 47 in the dog 17.

A projection 48 of the dog 17 is positioned to be engaged by a hook 49 extending from a hub 50 of the cam 14 when the cam is turned degrees counterclockwise from the position shown in Fig. 4, such engagement of the projection 48 by the hook 49 swinging the dog 17 outwardly and permitting the spring 27 to pull the serrations 41 on the gripper 18 from engagement with the serrations 40 of the tongue 13. The dog 17 is also provided with an masts We? 51. tha s rstsi es l9 s 2 in the end wall 30 of the housing 11, also as shown in Fig. 4.

The serrations 42 on the latch 20 are resiliently urged nto r pping re at on wi h t e er at ons at the mea s 13 by he p in 2 and he prin 7 i mounted u on the en l 31 f e h us by a cr 5.

The n u o whig t e atch 20 is mounted exte ds upwardly through the er lat 2.9 and t e thirst 2. n he pp r e d her o is p sit o ed. to ac ua e he la c against the spring 22 to move the serrations 42 away from the serrations 40 Qt the 12. .31 The tensi e 13, hi is T.-shaped ingress section, is provided with a horiz c n a y di osed flan e .54 n a e t c ly p s t oned e 5 9n wh e h boss 39 i Fash n d t e fla e 4 being provided with a stud 56 to limit out-ward movement or the n ue 3 and movable 5w 1&-

The pp p rt on f t hQUSiflt .1 is ovided w th n openin 7 ill hi h a P .58 h v n an n i is positioned, as shown in Fig. 6, and the base 24 is provided with openings or bolt holes 60 and 61 through which bolts, lag screws, or the like are placed to secure the vise on a work bench or the like.

During use, the vise is mounted upon a table or bench top, stand, or the like and, with the parts positioned as illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, a bolt head, nut, or other piece of work is held against the surface of the stationary jaw 10 and, with the lever 16 swung 180 degrees counterclockwise from the position shown, the movable jaw 12 is moved against the work, the tongue 13 sliding through the housing 11 until the face of the jaw 12 contacts the workpiece, the spring 22 permitting the teeth 42 of the latch to slide over the teeth 40 of the tongue 13. After the jaw 12 is positioned against the work the hand lever 16 is turned 180 degrees, clockwise to the position shown in Fig. 1 whereby the cam 14, acting through the dog 17 and key 19 urges the gripper 13 against the serrations 40 of the boss 39 whereby the movable jaw is positively locked in the operative position. To retract the jaw it is necessary to swing the hand lever 16 180 degrees counterclockwise from the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, and to press the finger 23 inwardly so as to move the latch 20 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. ,4 whereby its serrations 42 disengage the serrations 4 of the tongue, thus permitting the tongue 13 to be Failed in a sutwarq di e tion- It will be understood that modlfications, within the scope of the appended claim, may be made in the design and arrangement of the parts without departing from the function of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In an automatic vise of the type which comprises a housing having a stationary jaw extended upwardly therefrom, a tongue slidably mounted in the housing and having a boss with serrations on the face thereof positioned on one side, a movable jaw carried by the extended end of the tongue and positioned to coaet with the stationary jaw of the housing, a serrated gripper slidably mounted in the housing and positioned to enact with the serrations of the boss of the tongue, a dog mounted in the housing, a key positioned between the dog and gripper, a hand lever having a hub thereon pivotally mounted in the housing, said hub having a cam positioned to engage the dog for actuating the gripper through the key, said hub also having a hook on one side adapted to engage the dog to move the dog to a released position, resilient means for urging the gripper to a released position with serrations thereof spaced from the serrations of the boss of the tongue, the improvement which comprises a latch pivotally mounted on the housing and having serrations thereon positioned in confronting relation to said serrations of the boss of the tongue so as to coact with the serrations of the boss of the tongue, a spring for urging the latch with the serra: tions thereof in engagement with the serrations of the boss of the tongue, and a finger for actuating the latch to a position wherein the serrations thereof are spaced from the serrations of the boss of the tongue.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

